radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

Cycle Show 2016: Radon Bikes 7.57kg Jealous Carbon Hardtail

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In all honesty, we have little experience with Radon Bikes here at Singletrack Towers, so it was a pleasant surprise to see some of the brand’s models in the flesh at the Cycle Show in Birmingham. As we found out, the German company has been around for some 25 years, having been founded as a sports outlet store called H&S Bike Discount, located in Bonne in Germany.

About 20 years ago, H&S Bike Discount launched the Radon bike brand. Despite being around for that length of time, it’s only been in recent years where the Radon line has come to our attention. They’ve pushed out some higher-end mountain bikes and have begun to sponsor more riders in order to get the Radon name out amongst there.

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A bike that has caught some serious attention is the new Jealous carbon hardtrail from Radon Bikes. While details were released only a month ago, this was the first time we had the opportunity to see the new Jealous up close and personal.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

The Jealous is built around a seriously lightweight carbon frame that is claimed to weigh just 890 grams. Radon has used T1100 high modulus carbon fibres to offer a very high stiffness-to-weight ratio (apparently it’s STW is 106, whatever that means…), and each frame size uses unique tubing diameters to maintain a consistent ride quality regardless of rider size. The Jealous is available in Small, Medium, Large and X-Large sizes.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

In Radon’s words, the Jealous hardtail has “highly agile and frisky geometry for technically ambitious XC courses”. That could mean all sorts of things, but having skipped over the geometry charts, we suspect Radon means that the Jealous offers capable handling for modern XC racecourses. It features a 69.6-degree head angle when paired to a 100mm travel fork, and it has a 68mm bottom bracket drop and 432.5mm long chainstays.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

The Radon Jealous will be available as a frame only, and with multiple build kit options for those wanting a complete bike. The complete bike featured here will be available, complete with Tune and AX Lightness exotica. Phew!

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
Apparently that’s a seat clamp. The Wurger Skyline from Tune is claimed to weigh just 4.5 grams!

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

Yes, you’re meant to sit on it. And you may actually be surprised just how comfortable the Tune Speedneedle really is. Especially when you consider it’s a sub-100 gram saddle. Yikes!

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

The only thing ruining the super-stealth black finish on the Radon Jealous was the flashy gold SRAM Eagle XX-1 drivetrain. But hey, who’s complaining about a freaking gold cassette and chain?

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

If you’re going to build a superlight carbon hardtail, then you’re going to need light hoops. Fast racing treads from Schwalbe in the form of the brilliantly-named Thunder Burts.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

Those carbon rims are from AX Lightness. They’re fully carbon with a 25mm internal rim width, a 33.5mm external width, and a depth of 30mm. They certainly have presence, that’s for sure. The complete wheelset is called the ‘AX Ultra Boost 29C’ wheelset, which is claimed to weight just 1240 grams for the pair.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
Extralite provide HyperBoost hubs for the AX Lightness wheelset.
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
Hanging proudly in the Radon booth, bearing its weight to all.
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
Yep, 7.57kg for a complete mountain bike.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

At the other end of the scale was the new Slide+ from Radon. A full suspension plus bike with 130mm of travel, the Slide+ features a 7005 alloy frame with a four-bar suspension design and 2.8in wide Schwalbe tyres.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite

There’s a tapered head tube up front, and a slack 67.6-degree head angle to keep the front centre roomy.

radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
Alloy rocker linkage with sealed cartridge bearings throughout.
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
Those are some seriously toothy tyres…
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
…Schwalbe Magic Mary tyres, which we have not yet seen before. If you have a plus bike and you’re looking for beefier rubber, these might just be what you’re after.
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
The Radon Slide+ uses a mix of internal and external cable routing.
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
It may not be revolutionary, but the four-bar linkage is effective.
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
To help slow down those big Schwalbe tyres, Magura 4-pot callipers take hold of the 180mm rotors.
radon bikes jealous slide plus carbon hardtail superlight ax lightness tune extralite
The Radon Slide+ range starts at €2599, and goes up to €2999 for the Fox Factory suspension model shown here.

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